Artists Story
The towers beginnings stretch back to an open commission to create a piece of work for the land form called Samphire Hoe, England¹s newest landform. Commissioned by Sustrans and Eurotunnel, the artist had no idea what was to be built. As an artist with a diverse practice ranging from digital sound and video to environmental installation. My work has always been about hybridisation, mixing sound and visual ideas, working with theatre, dance and cross cultural fusions.With the tower I was keen to embrace several areas of my practice and to introduce new elements.As a public artist my work has taken me on many exciting journeys through materials, landscapes and physical hardships. Nothing could prepare me for the relentless nature of building this structure though. Due to the tightness of the budget it was left to my partner and colleague Pippa and myself to complete the construction of the tower. Spending one and a half months living in a Mongolian yurt under the cliffs climbing scaffold to fit those 800 metres of tapered tongue and groove boards